Everything doesn’t always go to plan, but perseverance is crucial.
This phrase can be applied to the Cedros Bay brand as the company’s expansion plans have consistently been stalled by global events.
However, the brand is still pushing forward. On Thursday, the company unveiled its natural hand wash line, several months after it was completed and ready to launch.
Chief Executive Officer Gabrielle Agostini explained that the shipping delays late last year proved to be a setback for the brand, which is otherwise entirely produced locally.
“Actually, with our raw materials, it has not been too difficult, because a lot of it is local that we get, especially the main raw ingredients like coconut oil that we get straight from Cedros and Icacos, which gave the name of the brand. But the packaging, we really tried to get it locally, but were unable to. So actually, the main reason why we were supposed to launch this in December last year, but the packaging was delayed by two to three months. So that’s why, because of everything going on, we decided to launch now in March,” said Agostini in an interview with the Business Guardian at the launch event at Henry’s in St Clair.
She continued, “I mean, there are a lot of difficulties with the shipping and whatnot, but now it’s all here. You just have to push back dates and whatnot. But we’re glad we can finally launch now.”
However, the Cedros Bay CEO was grateful that the brand had continued to grow in stride despite the challenges it had encountered since it launched in 2019. Agostini admitted that it was a difficult period to enter into business, which was not helped by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We really wanted to develop a natural product that can be used for all skin types. My team and I developed it because, okay, just like myself, I have very sensitive skin, eczema, dermatitis, and there’s a whole lot of other skin conditions. So we wanted to create a brand that anybody can use for all skin types. And we came up with this brand after a few years of (research and development), but we launched it right before COVID,” said Agostini, “So of course, it was a difficult time to really get into the cosmetics industry, and we launched facial oils, facial cleansers, a whole range of body products. But then, as you say, with the economic climate and also what we do best at CGA, coconut growers are really mass-market products. So even though this is like a niche brand, we decided to start focussing more on mass market products.”
The decision to bring forth the new natural wash line is a testament to the brand’s growing success, as Agostini explained the its soaps had been doing well in the local market.
“So about two years ago, we launched a line of hand soaps because we also make many other hand soap brands that are not natural. So it’s our first natural brand,” she explained, “So when we launched, our brand actually did quite well compared to the rest of the range. So we’ve decided to launch the hand washes tonight because of the success of that brand. As I mentioned, we’re really good with the grocery and retail chains to be able to push products like that as well as just focussing on the whole Caribbean aesthetic and natural ingredients.”
The new line has also come on the heels of the brand’s attempt to re-establish itself regionally. Agostini explained that the brand had launched previously in Jamaica, but the pandemic had shuttered those plans.
“We had entered the Jamaican market, but actually, we entered it one week before COVID, so that was when we tried in Jamaica. But of course, COVID was difficult, so we had to pull the brand out to the market. But then we actually, six months ago, launched in Barbados. We just launched with the soaps that we think are doing quite well, and we’ve done a lot of activities and local influences. So Barbados is really the next market that we’ve launched into to try and get that forex,” she said, “So, doing it bit by bit, we’ll see how it does in Barbados and decide where to go to next.”
While the brand has not yet returned to the Jamaica market, Agostini explained the company is assessing its regional reach.
“Once we do well in Barbados, we can look at maybe re-entering the Jamaican market or other Caricom markets,” she said, adding that the company was also currently testing the Dutch Caribbean market as well, “We launched as well in Aruba and Curacao. It’s moving slowly, but we’re hoping to also push those markets as well. So yes, we’ll focus on the Dutch and the English Caribbean islands.”
The Cedros Bay CEO acknowledged that the brand was up against several well-known international beauty brands, but felt the company had a unique advantage as it was one of the few available natural products on the market.
“It is always difficult to compete with the international brands, because they have their recognition. They’ve been around for dozens of years. But what is unique about us, one, of course, we’re local. Then, secondly, we were natural producing brands, and they actually don’t really have any natural competitors on the market. There are one or two other brands,” Agostini said, adding that the brand’s strategy in terms of pricing as well as its recyclable packages and marketing push, which features several local models and influencers, had helped establish its presence.
She said, “We are a mass market brand, so we really try to price it as low as possible so that it can be available to the average consumer. That’s what we did with the hand soaps, and that’s what we’re doing with the hand wash. We really look at our competitors on the market and really try and price in a way that anybody can afford it.”
Agostini maintained that even with the regional push in a bid to earn much-needed foreign exchange, the company would continue to maintain its local identity.
